Collaboration will unlock a more seamless experience for Walmart Canada patients with chronic medical conditions and complex medication needs, enhancing the retailer's mission to enhance access to affordable, personalized care

OTTAWA, Ontario, Oct. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calian Group Ltd. (TSX: CGY), a leader in creating accessible healthcare services in Canada, has agreed to collaborate with Walmart Canada to expand the retailer's specialty pharmacy capabilities through licensing Calian's custom-built digital health platform, Nexi.

Through Walmart Canada's network of 331 pharmacies nationwide (excluding Quebec, where they are independently operated by its franchise network), the retailer is able to dispense the vast majority of compounding and specialty pharmacy medications. However, through this new digital health platform, Walmart Canada will be able to better meet Canadians' healthcare needs by delivering an enhanced, seamless and secure experience to patients with chronic medical conditions and complex medication requirements.

"Our purpose at Walmart Canada is to help our customers save money so they can live better. Part of living better is our commitment to enhance access to affordable, personalized care for all Canadians, which is why we're thrilled to be collaborating with one of Canada's leading providers of community-based specialty healthcare services, Calian," says Alex Hurd, VP, Health Services Merchandising. "Through this collaboration, we're streamlining what can often be a complex specialty drug treatment plan for patients to navigate. And with 85% of Canadians living within 10km of a Walmart Pharmacy, we're reducing barriers to bring high-cost specialty medications closer to home."

Nexi, Calian's proprietary intelligent, health-enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, will provide Walmart Canada pharmacies with a simple, efficient, all-in-one smart pharmacy tool to automate the administration of their patients' specialty pharmaceutical needs, while also leveraging Calian's unique capabilities within health services, learning, cloud services and infrastructure security monitoring and protection.

"This collaboration with Walmart Canada exemplifies Calian's commitment to providing leading-edge healthcare solutions for Canadian retail and pharmaceutical providers, ensuring patients have increased access to their critical specialty pharmaceuticals," says Derek Clark, President, Calian Health. "For more than two decades, customers have come to Calian to support their healthcare needs knowing they can count on us when they can't afford to fail."

Specialty pharmacies are healthcare service providers that focus on dispensing specialty drugs (costing more than $1,000 per month) and providing comprehensive patient support. They serve as a critical link between manufacturers, healthcare providers and patients. According to a 2023 report by the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, nearly two million Canadian patients receive specialty drug medications every year to treat and manage serious, chronic and complex health conditions like autoimmune disorders, cancer, multiple sclerosis and mental health conditions. Different from traditional medications, these pharmaceuticals are more complex to administer and are critical for patient care often requiring advanced clinical monitoring to manage adverse side effects, adjustments to dosing regimens, and/or specialized handling and logistics, such as cold-chain delivery.

About Calian

We keep the world moving forward. Calian helps people communicate, innovate, learn and lead safe and healthy lives. Every day, our employees live our values of customer commitment, integrity, innovation, respect and teamwork to engineer reliable solutions that solve complex challenges. That's Confidence. Engineered. A stable and growing 40-year company, we are headquartered in Ottawa with offices and projects spanning North American, European and international markets. Visit calian.com to learn about innovative healthcare, communications, learning and cybersecurity solutions.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily. Walmart Canada operates pharmacies nationwide, hosts Jack Nathan Health in 73 stores providing family medicine and walk-in clinics, and offers vision centres in select locations across the country excluding Quebec. Walmart Canada offers extensive healthcare services – including medication reviews, healthcare consultations for minor ailments, immunizations, and eye exams – plus a wide assortment of health and wellbeing products such as over-the-counter medicines, eyewear, healthy food, exercise equipment, active gear and more. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada has made a commitment to regeneration – focusing on equitable opportunity, sustainability, community, ethics and integrity. Since 1994, Walmart Canada has raised over $750 million to support communities across Canada. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada's social media pages – Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Media inquiries:
Calian: media@calian.com
Walmart: corporateaffairscanada@walmart.com

Investor Relations inquiries:
ir@calian.com